Current News

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is promoting the diversity of global Jewish life this Passover through its JDC Entwine ReOrdered Passover Kit—a do-it-yourself package including?stories, toasts, recipes and traditions from eight Jewish communities worldwide—and continuing its long tradition of matzah delivery and Passover activities in local Jewish communities globally. Read more

Israel’sMinister of Culture and Sports, Miri Regev, Chairwoman of the Ministerial Committee on Symbols and Ceremonies, has informed Dr. Salman Zarka that he has been honoured and selected to be one of the 12 torch-lighters during the official ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem kicking off Israel’s Independence Day celebrations this year. Read more

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner reportedly told a group of ambassadors on Wednesday that the highly-anticipated Mideast peace plan for the Israelis and Palestinians will be released after Israel forms a new government and the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, which starts on May 5 and concludes on June 4. Read more

After days of conflict with the Central Elections Committee and demands to recount votes to prove that they had, in fact, earned the 1,400 necessary to enter the Knesset, the New Right party of Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked conceded defeat on Tuesday, closing the chapter of Israel’s 2019 elections. Read more

The Instagram accounts of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, were suspended Tuesday – a day after the IRGC was officially designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. Read more

With eight of 11 parties elected to the Knesset affirming to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin their support for election winner Benjamin Netanyahu, the recently re-elected prime minister now has the support of 61 MKs, enough to form a coalition. Read more

The Malaysian government announced last week that it would deny Israeli para-swimmers visas for the 2019 World Para Swimmers (WPS) Championship slated to take place in Kuching in July, prompting the International Paralympic Committee to intervene. Read more

Features and Articles

As NASA astronaut Richard R. (“Ricky”) Arnold projected slides showing images of his time on board the International Space Station, a lecture hall filled with young Israel Air Force personnel sat spellbound, absorbing his every word. Read more

The return of a rightwing government, heavily reliant on religious parties in Israel, is a matter of some concern because of the increasing encroachment of religious compulsion in Israeli life (as much as I fear the opposite). Read more